Pittcon 2008: Reusable chips help slash electrophoresis costs
March 3, 2008
Shimadzu’s MCE-202 MultiNA is a fully automated, microchip-based capillary electrophoresis analyzer for high-speed analysis of DNA and RNA samples (patents pending). At recommended conditions, chips can process 3,600 or more analyses before needing to be replaced—with no detectable carryover.
The MultiNA automates sample processing, including pre-treatment, separation, detection and data analysis, in a single device, making the MultiNA far more user-friendly than traditional alternatives. An LED-excited fluorescence detector increases sensitivity to more than 10 times that of ethidium bromide staining. Yet operating costs for this unit are comparable to or less than agarose gel electrophoresis, which requires several pieces of equipment and is labor intensive, and 25% less than equivalent-class microchip systems.
The MultiNA system can register up to 120 automatic analyses at a time or perform efficient analysis from an individual sample. By parallel processing up to four microchips, it can produce electrophoresis results in 75 seconds in the shortest analysis mode.
The MultiNA can perform separations with fragment length differences of only a few base-pair (BP) units. It uses reagent kits corresponding to nucleic acid size, automatically injecting a set quantity of reagent, therefore using only small amounts of important samples (as little as 2 μL) and very little reagent. The automation also prevents the accidental loss of reagent and operator-induced data variances. Simultaneous electrophoresis of an internal marker ensures analysis reliability and reproducibility.
Advantages of microchip electrophoresis
Pre-treatment of DNA and RNA nucleic acid samples requires confirmation of sample size (length) and approximate quantitation. Agarose gel electrophoresis systems are the most widely used devices to provide this confirmation. Next in popularity are microchip electrophoresis systems, which perform agarose gel electrophoresis on microchips.
Agarose gel electrophoresis systems require a considerable amount of manual labor, using separate equipment in each of six stages, from gel preparation to data processing. In contrast, microchip electrophoresis systems perform these six processes within a single device, are normally used for applications involving quick sample size confirmation, and generally offer only rough separation. However, even though the need for these systems is great, their running costs are fairly high, which has slowed the transition from agarose gel electrophoresis systems to microchip electrophoresis systems. Shimadzu’s development of a reusable microchip has resulted in running costs comparable to or less than those for agarose gel electrophoresis. In addition, by offering reagent kits that correspond to separation size (length), a product capable of completely automatic high-speed analysis has been developed, ensuring simple operability, high separation, and high repeatability.
Shimadzu’s software for the MultiNA uses size markers to automatically correct electrophoresis results for size prediction and quantitation. Users can perform either automatic or manual data analysis, and confirm completed results even while the unit processes other samples. The software includes a well status display, analysis schedule list and chip status.
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Inc., www.ssi.shimadzu.com
SOURCE: Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Inc.
Shimadzu’s MCE-202 MultiNA is a fully automated, microchip-based capillary electrophoresis analyzer for high-speed analysis of DNA and RNA samples (patents pending). At recommended conditions, chips can process 3,600 or more analyses before needing to be replaced—with no detectable carryover.
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The MultiNA system can register up to 120 automatic analyses at a time or perform efficient analysis from an individual sample. By parallel processing up to four microchips, it can produce electrophoresis results in 75 seconds in the shortest analysis mode.
The MultiNA can perform separations with fragment length differences of only a few base-pair (BP) units. It uses reagent kits corresponding to nucleic acid size, automatically injecting a set quantity of reagent, therefore using only small amounts of important samples (as little as 2 μL) and very little reagent. The automation also prevents the accidental loss of reagent and operator-induced data variances. Simultaneous electrophoresis of an internal marker ensures analysis reliability and reproducibility.
Advantages of microchip electrophoresis
Pre-treatment of DNA and RNA nucleic acid samples requires confirmation of sample size (length) and approximate quantitation. Agarose gel electrophoresis systems are the most widely used devices to provide this confirmation. Next in popularity are microchip electrophoresis systems, which perform agarose gel electrophoresis on microchips.
Agarose gel electrophoresis systems require a considerable amount of manual labor, using separate equipment in each of six stages, from gel preparation to data processing. In contrast, microchip electrophoresis systems perform these six processes within a single device, are normally used for applications involving quick sample size confirmation, and generally offer only rough separation. However, even though the need for these systems is great, their running costs are fairly high, which has slowed the transition from agarose gel electrophoresis systems to microchip electrophoresis systems. Shimadzu’s development of a reusable microchip has resulted in running costs comparable to or less than those for agarose gel electrophoresis. In addition, by offering reagent kits that correspond to separation size (length), a product capable of completely automatic high-speed analysis has been developed, ensuring simple operability, high separation, and high repeatability.
Shimadzu’s software for the MultiNA uses size markers to automatically correct electrophoresis results for size prediction and quantitation. Users can perform either automatic or manual data analysis, and confirm completed results even while the unit processes other samples. The software includes a well status display, analysis schedule list and chip status.
Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Inc., www.ssi.shimadzu.com
SOURCE: Shimadzu Scientific Instruments Inc.
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